It's cold. And snowy. But the sun is actually shining through the bare trees, the snow is glistening and those trees are alive with birds. In your life B.C. (Before Children), you might have pulled on a pair of running shoes and gone for a long jog, laced up your hiking boots and rambled through the woods, or maybe even driven down to the Laurel Highlands for a peaceful afternoon of snowshoeing.

Now, raising a little kid or two, your winter days are spent inside. Reading the same chewed-up books to them over and over. Playing with all those jangling electronic toys your relatives gave them over the holidays. Trying to keep them from destroying the house, themselves and you.

But there's a way out -- literally.

Pediatricians and experienced outdoor enthusiasts say that with a few precautions, a sense of fun and a healthy respect for your children's limitations, you and your kids can and should enjoy winter days by taking short hikes to explore the outdoors.

"The worry we have in the United States now, it's obesity, not being outside," said Dr. Scott Tyson, a pediatrician and CEO of Pediatrics South in Mt. Lebanon, Peters and Robinson. "If we could get these kids, instead of playing two hours of video games, to go out for a family walk, first it would strengthen the family ties, second it would really exercise the kids."

When deciding where and when to go winter hiking with young children, the experts say, two goals should guide you: fun and comfort.

These early experiences will shape your children's attitude toward outdoor activities, so keep it relaxed and upbeat. You're not bagging peaks or trying to whittle your pace to a personal best. You're just having fun together.

Go to a walking trail in your local park and watch squirrels chase each other for as long as they hold your child's attention. Describe birds and name them. Study clouds, tree bark, pebbles, pine needles, the difference between crackly dead leaves on the ground and supple evergreen leaves on the bushes. Take off a mitten now and then to let your child feel the smoothness of a creek-polished stone or the bristly lobes of a pinecone.

Look for bird and animal tracks in the snow, and follow where they lead. Make snow angels and snow balls. Stand still and watch the wind swirl the tree branches overhead. Your child will find all these things -- and probably, lots of others -- immensely interesting if you slow down enough for him or her to take them in.

For slightly older children, creating a fun goal can keep them motivated, said Sean Brady, assistant executive director for Venture Outdoors, a Downtown nonprofit group that organizes local hiking, camping, skiing, kayaking and other outdoor activities throughout the year.

"Kids love to have a goal: 'We're going to walk and see the frozen waterfall' or 'We're going to see the hollow tree where the raccoon lives,'" he said. "It gives a finite scale to things."

Also, keep your winter hikes fairly short, at least at first and for very young children, to keep them fun and comfortable during cold weather.

If your child is walking, let him or her set the pace. If you're carrying an infant or young toddler in a frontpack or backpack, remember that your work is helping keep you warm, but isn't helping your child as much. The backpack, in particular, can quickly get chilly for kids because it lacks the body-to-body contact of a frontcarrier, said Beth Pedone, who helps run Venture Outdoors' kid-friendly, stroller-friendly nature walks -- called Tyke Hikes -- through city parks during the spring, summer and fall.

"The best way to stay warm is to keep moving, so for them it should almost be more of a walk than a long hike," said Ms. Pedone, who takes her 18-month-old son Jackson for short hikes during the winter and does more outdoor activities with him in warm weather. "Their blood is not pumping because they're not moving -- they're just kind of sitting in the carrier."

If kids can walk, even slowly, they'll stay more comfortable than if they are carried, she said.

"I'd rather have him hike and just go for a shorter distance so he could stay warm," Ms. Pedone said of her son.

While common sense should guide decisions about when to take young children outside and for how long, Dr. Raymond Pitetti, assistant medical director of the emergency room at Children's Hospital, says children's ability to withstand exposure to cold varies with age.

When temperatures are in the 30s, even with no wind, Dr. Pitetti said he would hesitate to take infants younger than 8 or 9 months out at all unless absolutely necessary. Because their large head size relative to the rest of their body causes them to lose heat rapidly, Dr. Pitetti said he would probably wait until temperatures were in the 40s or even 50s to take them out for a walk.

Toddlers from the ages of 1 to 3 can safely go out when temperatures are in the 30s (upper 30s and 40s would be best) if they are warmly dressed, but only for about 20 to 30 minutes, he said.

Older children should have no trouble walking, hiking or playing outside with weather in the 30s, but should come inside every hour or so to warm up, drink something to stay hydrated and eat a little something to keep their energy going. And any time children's clothing gets wet, whether from sweating or from playing in ice, snow or rain, it should be changed because it will chill them faster and put them at risk of hypothermia.

"The best way to prevent anything from happening is frequent breaks, frequent warm-up periods," said Dr. Pitetti, who frequently goes running when the temperature is in the teens or 20s. "That's the best thing you can do."

Parents should watch for changes in their children's skin color; redness indicates overexposure, mottling indicates the child is becoming cold, and white, waxy or gray skin is the first sign of frostbite. And remember that wind can quickly make a borderline day feel much colder; a 20 mph wind makes the temperature feel about 10 degrees colder than it really is, according to the National Weather Service.

A little chapstick or moisturizing jelly -- look in your grocery store's organics section for Alba's Un-petroleum Jelly for a non-chemical, non-petroleum-based alternative to Vaseline -- on exposed cheeks and noses can protect them from windburn and chapping.

When dressing your child for the hike, remember to put on several layers of clothing on the top and bottom (which will maintain body temperature better than a giant snowsuit), a hat that covers the ears, mittens (which keep hands much warmer than gloves), a weatherproof jacket, and warm waterproof boots.

This last point is particularly important.

"In almost any weather, you can go outside and have fun, but if you have cold, wet feet, no one has fun like that," said Brady. "Cold, wet feet equals unhappy campers."